FOOD AND FASTING PERIODS AS MEDICINE TO PREVENT DISEASE
Professor Leonie Heilbronn
University of Adelaide &
Group Leader Obesity and Metabolism,
South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI)
Adelaide, South Australia
RESEARCHER PROFILE
Filmed in Adelaide, South Australia | February 2025
Professor Leonie Heilbronn is based at the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI), where she leads the Obesity and Metabolism laboratory. Her research is at the interface between basic and clinical science. She is internationally recognised for her work in nutritional modulation in humans and has made major contributions to our current understanding of mechanisms underlying conditions such as insulin resistance, particularly inflammation and lipid metabolism. She has also contributed significantly to current concepts of caloric restriction (CR), intermittent fasting (IF) and time restricted eating (TRE) in humans. She has published more than 110 peer reviewed papers in scientific journals and is an Associate Editor of Obesity, and Obesity Research and Clinical Practice.
Prof. Heilbronn is a translational investigator in obesity and diabetes research. She has a particular interest in understanding how fasting and meal timing alter nutrient signalling pathways to improve health and contributed extensively to current concepts in calorie restriction, intermittent fasting and time restricted eating. She has published more than 140 peer-reviewed manuscripts, and has a current h-index of 44. She is an Associate Editor of Obesity and the European Journal of Endocrinology. She is President of the Australia and New Zealand Obesity Society and an Associate Member of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Science.
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Ocular disease and early onset myopia
Dr Mountford has successfully established Western Australia’s first and only ocular genetic screening platform using zebrafish and utilises this model to help elucidate some of the complex gene-environment interactions responsible for the development of myopia.
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Respiratory health and the microbiome in the lung environment
Dr Taylor leads the Respiratory Health Group within the Microbiome and Host Health Program. His research employs tailored techniques that allow the lung environment to be characterised to a high level of accuracy, including detailed measurements of airway microbiology (microbiome), mucus composition, and inflammation. This information is used to identify predictive markers of chronic lung disease severity as well as determine effective forms of therapy.
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Seeking discoveries in earlier bowel cancer detection
Associate Professor Susan Woods is a cancer research focused on eradicating bowel cancer through earlier detection and investigating the DNA related from colorectal cancer cells. She leads the Gut Cancer Research Group at the University of Adelaide and SAHMRI and with her team is researching new treatments for advanced disease.
